Relocation?

[cochise]

@Pyjamaztehboss he is right though, we would be dumb to volunteer to relocate!

 

[BalmainJnr]

If they were to relocate us voluntarily or involuntarily I would be done with the NRL. We all took our licks 20 years ago, the infighting seems to have stopped and we recorded a profit last year. Think the club and the supporter base is as strong and unified as it has ever been. We just need to deliver it on the field.

 

[PJ_]

@BalmainJnr true mate

 

[PJ_]

@cochise may be dumb to relocate, I was against calling the topic dumb.

 

[cochise]

@Pyjamaztehboss @TYGA said the idea of relocating when the club is becoming financially sound is the dumbest idea. He is correct!

 

[PJ_]

@cochise my bad. Must of misread. Apologies.

 

[jirskyr]

@Snake Surely Manly and Sharks are in greater dire straits than Tigers, on a business / finance / members / crowds level.

 

[Snake]

@jirskyr I do not know which club will not be invited to join next time around ! But our club has to do all it can to not be the one ... there will be no relocation this does not work and the NRL know it .
A new one city team will easily fill that position , I just do not think our club is doing enough to secure itself long term in the crowded Sydney market . Yes they made a small profit last season , the multiple home ground situation is a real hit and miss financially so you can not rely on that money being guaranteed. I have never understood why the club deliberately disenfranchises the supporter base ! why as a club you would not want 20 to 25 k attended every home game at one home ground ... instead sell
Memberships to seperate grounds ,now that is not good business as your core supporter base will only attend certain grounds .
Imo this cultural and business model the club just never wants to change is reflective to the success the club has had on the field it is hit and miss , there has to be a link between the two .... yes a small profit last season but also no success on the paddock season after season . I want our club to be as strong as possible, do not think there will be any support from anyone when the time comes as it will be survival of the fittest, we all know where our club rates with the NRL so be wary of what the future holds and hopefully the people that run our club realise this ..the always next season catch cry could well be coming to an end !

 

[jirskyr]

I have never understood why the club deliberately disenfranchises the supporter base ! why as a club you would not want 20 to 25 k attended every home game at one home ground … instead sell
Memberships to seperate grounds ,now that is not good business as your core supporter base will only attend certain grounds .

Well of course every team wants maximum ticket sales. Nobody is actively trying to
decrease or avoid consistent home grounds.

And those core supporters who only attend certain grounds, don't you lose them if you remove the only ground for which they will attend?

And of course Tigers, as a business, hire experts that model the best strategies to increase ticket revenues. Nobody knows for a fact what will happen if you withdraw all matches at Leichhardt and Campbelltown - maybe nobody cares, or maybe there's a fan revolt. Wests Tigers have not been Balmain or Magpies for 2 decades now, but don't underestimate the ties to the old grounds and old identities.

Now some metrics:
- average crowd at Leichhardt in the past 5 years (inc. 2019) = 12,277 (21 matches)
- average crowd at Campbelltown same duration = 10,492 (21 matches)
- average crowd Homebush, all games not just home games = 19,663 (37 matches)

I included all Homebush games because as a centralised common ground, you want to look at the attractiveness for all types of fans. I'd say "home" games at ANZ for Tigers would have more Tigers fans due to paying members, but there's equal pull for the opposition who may already have their team playing at ANZ too.

Bearing in mind that the Homebush average includes 9 matches against Parramatta that averaged 28,799, with 5 of those matches > 30K and 3 > 35K.

So in summary, as a business case, no LO and CSS do not have consistently good crowds, they are inferior to Homebush on a consistent basis, but much of that is not just the feel of home fans, it's to do with how many away fans you can pull. It makes sense that more fans away are willing to travel to a neutral venue.

And that's part of the big issue with home ground, in which case I agree with you that a single home ground is superior. Consistency is good, special rivalries (like with Parra) are good, but also the willingness of opposition fans to travel is maximum good. You can't carry high crowds in Sydney without the opposition chipping in, simple as that.

So if I were in charge, I agree with you that we are due to abandon the old home grounds. But I understand why they haven't done it yet. There's the old Balmain/Magpies issue that we are probably close to evolving past, but also strong negatives associated with a permanent base at the current Homebush - it's not a popular stadium.

Compare however to the new WSS and people are raving about it. Within a few years we'll also have the new SFS and refurbed ANZ, so conceptually 3 elite-class facilities that meet the needs of modern fans and enrich the game-day experience.

As a Tigers business person, I would not be over-committing long term to a single-stadium strategy until all the 3 stadiums are done and you can see what is on offer. Probably the new SFS remains geographically uncomfortable, though with the new light rail, perhaps easier to get to.

But already we've hitched our wagon to WSS for a few years, then when the new Homebush is available we can reconsider. I think that's prudent management. I think you also continue to whittle down the # games each year at the old venue, which they have been doing for many years - we played 7 games at Leichhardt in 2000 and 3 in 2019!

And you know what, my family became paying Tigers ANZ members because the games have been gradually transitioning there and because, personally, I like the experience at Homebush.

 

[simonthetiger]

All the best games are at Homebush hence the good crowds, its not rocket science.

 

[diedpretty]

Can't see relocation or cutting any teams at this stage. More likely 2 new teams come in at next licencing period. Probably Perth and second Brisbane side. Gives the NRL an extra game each week as a selling point at the next TV deal. Gives Perth the opportunity to have their own side not an ex Sydney team and breaks broncos dominance in Brisbane. They will see how 18 teams works until the following licencing period where teams will be cut or merged rather than relocated. Biggest issue with 18 teams is playing talent. There is enough out there - the problem is most of it is with a handful of clubs. To overcome this the NRL seriously need to look at a draft system to spread the talent. thats my 2 bobs worth.

 

[momo_amp_medo]

Can't see relocation or cutting any teams at this stage. More likely 2 new teams come in at next licencing period. Probably Perth and second Brisbane side. Gives the NRL an extra game each week as a selling point at the next TV deal. Gives Perth the opportunity to have their own side not an ex Sydney team and breaks broncos dominance in Brisbane. They will see how 18 teams works until the following licencing period where teams will be cut or merged rather than relocated. Biggest issue with 18 teams is playing talent. There is enough out there - the problem is most of it is with a handful of clubs. To overcome this the NRL seriously need to look at a draft system to spread the talent. thats my 2 bobs worth.

It could be argued that the impact of second Brisbane team on talent pool will not be as critical as they will draw on what is considered by some, to be untapped talent pool which exists in the Queensland second tear and Regional comps.

As far as Perth is concerned initially yes .... but through time a local NRL team should result in Increased growth and general interest of the game. And that should in turn lead to greater take up and participation as was shown when Rugby Union ran a team in WA.

 

[tiger_scott]

@diedpretty said in [Relocation?](/post/1009969):
>Biggest issue with 18 teams is playing talent. There is enough out there - the problem is most of it is with a handful of clubs. To overcome this the NRL seriously need to look at a draft system to spread the talent. thats my 2 bobs worth.

Correct. The draft in the NFL works very well and creates a level of excitement during their off-season. Would probably need the U20s reintroduced, so teams have somewhere to draft from, and there needs to be no "teams have dibs on 5 players from their U20s", which I think was suggested last time this was raised. Also need sign off from the RLPA, so there is no Terry Hill style challenges. There will be some tanking I imagine, once teams are out of finals contention, as we see in other sports with a draft, but at least that would hopefully even the talent pool out a bit.

 

[Snake]

A lot of good posts with differing views all good areas to explore.

 

[Harvey]

The western reds (league) and western force (union) have both failed in Perth.

If there is a team there it will need a rich benefactor or will be propped up by the NRL.

Given the population there, any rugby is a 3rd or 4th ranked sport behind AFL & soccer

 

[gallagher]

The western reds (league) and western force (union) have both failed in Perth.

If there is a team there it will need a rich benefactor or will be propped up by the NRL.

Given the population there, any rugby is a 3rd or 4th ranked sport behind AFL & soccer

The Reds were a casualty of superleague, like the Crushers. NRL would play second fiddle to AFL but not soccer.

 

[Jedi_Tiger]

i like the WSS i feel the problem is we want one location yet CSS and LO are traditional grounds so we should look at one game a year Manly at CSO play in magpie strip and one game at Leichardt against Souths play in balmain strip the rest at WSS.
The NRL seem like they will move to big stadium policy so WSS seems the best of them for the remainder of games

 

[gallagher]

i like the WSS i feel the problem is we want one location yet CSS and LO are traditional grounds so we should look at one game a year Manly at CSO play in magpie strip and one game at Leichardt against Souths play in balmain strip the rest at WSS.
The NRL seem like they will move to big stadium policy so WSS seems the best of them for the remainder of games

I dont think the NRL will have a stadium policy. I think they will be happy for the large clubs to get bigger by using the new stadiums and will watch on while clubs playing out of little suburban grounds with little supporter bases slowly die.

Fortunately we have a large supporter base but will need to be careful on our home ground selection.

 

[Russell]

@Jedi_Tiger Know it is your opinion, which you are entitled to.

However would just like to say how much (heaps and heaps) I disagree with resurrecting the Western Suburbs and Balmain jumpers.

We are an NRL team called the Wests Tigers - the other two clubs do not exist in the NRL.

 

[JD Tiger]

@Jedi_Tiger Know it is your opinion, which you are entitled to.

However would just like to say how much (heaps and heaps) I disagree with resurrecting the Western Suburbs and Balmain jumpers.

We are an NRL team called the Wests Tigers - the other two clubs do not exist in the NRL.

Yeah good point. But I would hate to play one game at Leichhardt and 1 at Campbelltown, and it be against a team where we have little history against like Titans or Warriors.